International Sloth Day Puts Spotlight On Slow-Moving Mammal

TAMPA, FL — They have a reputation for being lazy. But are sloths really lacking energy or are they just misunderstood?

On Oct. 20, International Sloth Day, ZooTampa at Lowry Park is out to dispel some misconceptions about these comical critters.

The animal care team at the zoo said the sloth's sluggish pace (about a foot a minute) doesn't indicate laziness. It just means they move at a more leisurely pace than the rest of the animal kingdom.

Here are a few facts about sloths:

Slow And Steady

Not only do sloths move in slow motion, but so does their metabolism. In fact, the sloth has the slowest digestion rate of any mammal in the world.

Their sluggish metabolism is the major reason you rarely catch a sloth exerting itself.

With food passing through multiple chambers in the stomach, a sloth’s digestive process can take around a month from the time it eats to the moment it excretes its waste.

Just Hanging Around

Sloths are arboreal animals, which means they live in the trees in their native habitat in Central America and north of the Amazon River in South America.

With trees offering them protection from predators, sloths spend the majority of their lives off the ground except when giving birth or defecating.

They move through the tree canopy at a rate of about 40 yards per day, munching on leaves, twigs and buds. But they spend most of their time sleeping — between 10 and 20 hours a day.

Blending In

By only leaving the trees once every five days or so, sloths protect themselves from being noticed by predators.

When they do come down from the trees, moving slow becomes a sort of camouflage, allowing them to capture the attention of predators like jaguars and anacondas.

They're also camouflaged by the algae that grow on their fur. While the sloth provides the algae with shelter and water (since sloth fur is highly absorbent), the algae provide the sloth with camouflage and extra nutrients that are absorbed through the sloth’s skin.

There are six species of sloths, some with two toes and some with three toes. Three-toed sloths have extra neck vertebrae that allow them to turn without moving their bodies.

Say Cheese

The facial structure of sloths gives the appearance that they are constantly smiling, even if they're in pain, under stress or experiencing anxiety. So don't judge a sloth's mood by the smile on its face. The care team at ZooTampa relies on other indicators such as appetite, the sounds they voice and their behavior.

Protecting The Sloth

Two of the six species of sloths rate high on the list of endangered animals, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The pygmy three-toed sloth is "Critically Endangered" and the maned three-toed sloth is considered "Vulnerable."

The biggest threat to the sloth is the destruction of its habitat by humans.

To protect the sloth's habitat, ZooTampa urges people to only purchase products from Central and South America, such as coffee, chocolate and bananas, that have the Rainforest Alliance certified seal. This seal means the products were responsibly sourced and harvesting them didn't contribute to deforestation or the destruction of the sloth's natural habitat.

People can also help by adopting a sloth through the WWF for $60. The adoption kits include a plush 10-inch sloth, an adoption certificate, a photo with information about the adopted sloth and a gift bag.